Originally, Stranger Things wasn’t always going to follow the kids from Hawkins, Indiana. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer initially envisioned a very different season two of the popular Netflix show. Inspired by Stephen King novels – shocking, right? – the two brothers first thought of Stranger Things as an anthology show.

Below, the two discuss why the Stranger Things anthology series didn’t happen.

Stranger Things season 2 has been called bigger, more ambitious, and scarier. There aren’t too many scares in season one, as I recall, but producer Shawn Levy says parts of the new season are going to make “the Demogorgon look quaint.” Matt and Ross Duffer‘s Netflix series also isn’t going to give into fan service, like bringing back a dead character because she’s beloved on the Internet.

True to the Halloween release of Stranger Things season 2, the new season will be “darker and more eerie” than the first season of Netflix’s surprise genre TV hit.

The hints at a darker season 2 will keep coming — I’m pretty sure this is the 10,000th time I’ve heard it called “darker” — but it wasn’t until now that the cast and crew of the ’80s-set horror show specified that much of that dark stuff happens to a specific character. Which, in this case, I’m not here for because we need to protect everyone on this precious show.

The first season of Stranger Things captivated, baffled, and frustrated us — and the second season promises to do all that and more.

That includes upping the stakes on a cliff-hanging finale, which star Gaten Matarazzo (who plays the scene-stealing Dustin) promises the second season will end on. The first season, which had no guarantee for a sequel, ended on Will (Noah Schnapp) ominously vomiting up a creepy slug and Chief Hopper (David Harbour) leaving a box of Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) favorite Eggo waffles out in the forest. Now with Stranger Things becoming one of Netflix’s flagship shows, a third season is definitely in the cards, and with that, there will most likely be an even more infuriating season finale cliffhanger. Hit the jump to learn about the Stranger Things season 2 cliffhanger.

Stranger Things was one of Netflix’s biggest surprise hits last year and the ’80s-set supernatural series is taking its sweet time coming back to us. The genre hit by Matt and Ross Duffer won’t return until Halloween (which is rather appropriate), depriving us of more Stranger Things for another five months.

But Season 2 has officially wrapped production, and some on-set interviews interviews featuring cast members David Harbour (the grizzled Chief Hopper) and Finn Wolfhard (Mike, leader of the Dungeons and Dragons-playing preteens), as well as the Duffer brothers themselves, have been released. Let’s run through the highlights below! Oh, and someone on set also got a pretty cool Ghostbusters care package.

As we learned over the weekend, Stranger Things season 2 isn’t actually coming for another nine months. But Netflix’s marketing team seems determined to make sure you spend every day between now and then longing to return to Hawkins, Indiana. Following the release of that first teaser trailer, a slew of new Stranger Things season 2 photos have just hit the web. Though plenty of time has passed since the events of season one (about a year, according to star David Harbour), it looks like this sleepy town is still dealing with the fallout from its brush with the Upside Down. See the Stranger Things season 2 photos below. Read More »

For a series filled with young stars and suffused with nostalgia for simpler times, Stranger Things goes to some pretty dark places. (Sometimes even literally dark places, like the Upside Down.) Even so, it’s largely a family-friendly show, provided you’re not watching with very young children. But series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that their original vision leaned more R-rated, especially when it came to Eleven. Find out how below. Read More »

Back in November filming began on Stranger Things season two. Plot details are mostly under wraps, but creators Matt and Ross Duffer, the cast, and executive producer Shawn Levy (Uncharted) have occasionally shared some information on what to expect. In a recent interview, Levy, who returned to direct two episodes, called next season “bigger and potentially darker in its stakes.”

Below, read what else Levy had to say about Stranger Things season two.

Over the summer Matt and Ross Duffer were writing Stranger Things season two. Before their hit sci-fi series even debuted on Netflix, the second season had the greenlight. Already fans are theorizing about what’s in store with season two, especially after the teaser trailer revealed some episodes titles. According to the Duffer Brothers, some of these fan theories are correct.

Unlike some of the kid-led adventure movies of the 1980s it evoked, Stranger Things spent quite a bit of time with the adults during the first season of the popular series. Ross and Matt Duffer‘s decision to do so paid off because of Jim Hopper (David Harbour), who, in particular, helped make season one of the sci-fi show significantly more dramatic. Hopper is returning for the second season of Stranger Things, which Harbour teased at New York Comic-Con along with star Millie Bobby Brown.

Neither actor revealed any plot details — why would they? — but Harbour discussed what we should expect from some of the characters. Below, read what the actor had to say about the Stranger Things season two relationships. (Note: SPOILERS are ahead.)